The Great Wall of Better Sleep

02 . 06 . 12

We are pretty lucky to live in a small space with access to the internet. I am loving the camaraderie and creativity out there. People who live in 250 square feet and nerd out on space efficiency and then hop online to share their nerdiness with nerdy people like us.

Having wee friends over is funny.

There is much about our space (400 square feet; a bit smaller than a two-car garage) that feels exciting and liberating:

We picked exactly what we need and realized we still had space for non-essentials.

Our kids have never been more creative with their play, with only a few books, art supplies, puzzles and a bag of scarves.

Our home always feels messy. For example, laundry to put away? It’s in the kitchen. Kids make a fort? I can’t walk.

It’s like camping every day.

The kids don’t really want to sleep because, a few feet away, mom and dad are doing something awesome and interesting (not in that way. GEEZ).

The last challenge is the biggest. Sleep. No sound barriers, no doors. Often I fall asleep with Ruby at 8, in my clothes. Other times, Andy and I sit on the couch in quiet darkness, whispering, waiting for the deep breaths of our kids, eventually falling asleep on each other. Other times, Margot and Ruby fight it and we read more books and all end up a pile of sleeping tired people in our bed, in the kitchen. We’ve talked a lot about the majority of the world’s people who sleep seven to a room. It keeps it in perspective and let’s us know this difficulty is an adjustment. We are adjusting to this new schtick.

And we built a wall. The Great Wall of Better Sleep.

I had this vision of a wall made from cool old doors but a few things complicated my vision. One, lead paint. Two, how would we reuse those doors? We are only in this small space until June and wanted to create a temporary wall out of material that could be reused.

We visited our local building materials reuse store and sleepily walked around on slick ice, Margot in her gown and veil, until we found some cool rough cut wood. There’s an awesome metaphor in there somewhere.

Andy screwed the boards right into the bunk bed, staggering them to create more interest and more of a light barrier.

At first the girls were bummed to lose this side of their jungle gym but they quickly (that night) enjoyed the coziness of their private, peaceful space.

This wall makes us wink.

Notice some cute clothes in these photos? Yes. Those are designed and made right here in Montana by the brilliant CarolLynn Lapotka. I am so pleased to present REcreate Designs as a sponsor!

This mama runs a green business with such acute attention to design. All of her products are upcycled, repurposed. She puts a shiny new twist on thrift store scores, makes clothes that people choose over everything else in their closet. I adoremy skirt. Ruby is in love with her fancy pants. Margot, the pickiest dresser in our family thinks this skirt (below) and dress (above) are the cat’s pajamas.

REcreate is offering one of you lucky ducks a $50 gift certificate. Visit REcreate Designs site and come back here to leave a comment telling us how you’d spend $50. Extra entry: like REcreate on Facebookand leave a separate comment saying so. And! All you lucky ducks get 10% off your purchase with coupon code ‘digthischick.’ Thanks, REcreate Designs.

OK, I’m off to the other side of this wall to slumber. Sweet dreams out there.

Just love that wall. Oh to be married to DIY dad not DIY doh! Or be useful in that way myself, of course. We’ve had a bit of snow in the uk this week. Not much but enough for my kids to dig out the sledge. I thought of you and your girls all togged out in the right gear as we searched for boots and gloves etc. We just don’t have the right stuff or at least not enough of the right stuff, because it snows so rarely. It’s just not so enjoyable with wet, cold, whingy babes! Thank you for your blog. I’m fairly new to it and so love reading it. Sarah

Oh my…I love your confined, family space. Although it has it’s challenges, the forced togetherness would be lovely!Margot’s wink against the wall = too cute! My Miss 4 has started to do thumbs up & squinted dorky wink everytime I get the camera out…haaaa….not cool in my books, but sooo cool in hers, so I snap away x

P.S. I’m a facebook fan now too…and I am SO impressed with you 4 living in such close quarters…I’m sure there are lots of challenges, but you’ll be in your new home soon and what an adventure in the meantime and the memories you’ll making right now will last you and your girls forever!

ps…just went back to reread & gaze at my granddaughters AGAIN…I love that Ruby is wearing the red jumper that was knit by your grandmother for you and that Margot wore it too. By the way that was given to you on your birthday probably when you were 2…..32 years ago tomorrow! xoxo

after looking more at the dresses and noted that $50 would only buy one, and eh with twin girls that could cause a problem…they are 14 1/2 months going on 13 years! so we would have to rethink our said request and this momma would have to choose a less possible drama item to bring into the home…FUN FLAGS BABY!! I love the idea of putting them around their room….equally of course

From reading your mom’s comment, it sounds like today must be your birthday, so happy birthday! I hope you are treated royally by your family & that you feel truly special today. Your girls are very, very cute!

I would totally get my Margot a dress, and after talking to her at the MADE Fair, hopefully they have 5T now! And if you haven’t found this site yet, check it out: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com it is all about living in small spaces. They have a kids specific site and “the kitchn” which has great food to-dos!

Dang! I don’t play on facebook, so only one chance for me!Love their stuff, been jonesin for a skirt for ages!When my girls were wee ones, we followed their dad around to logging camps, living in tents and were really jacked when we got our own small camper trailer….we did lots of crafts and took lots of long explorations and family was good in a wee space. NOw my eldest daughter is trying to start her own family and they are building their own wee space, a garden shed they will live in while they establish on their 10 rural acres, Livin’ the dream!

Hmm, so hard to choose. I think a snap-down dress for my Ruby and some fancy pants for her little sister, sweet Violet. And maybe a skirt for me. I’m definitely going to check back in with REcreate once my self-imposed no-spend February is over.

What a great opportunity to temporarily place these rough boards as a wall. The best part – they will be installed somewhere into your new home and will be a constant reminder of your winter/spring spent in close proximity. Seriously, I think you could handle living on a boat after this experience!

I love the skirts – mama/girl skirts would be fun. And those kid pants are killer – love the tush on them!

I would love a jumper for my girl! The flags are totally cool too!Way to make this small space work! In years you will have many great stories about when the four of you lived in a 400 square foot house.cheers!

I don’t even know how I would go about the $50 I would love to have one of the “snappy dresses” but also love those pants. I guess if I got the $50 I would have to make a final choice. Love all her stuff that is for sure.

OMG!! My mom bought me one of their skirts at the MADE fair!! It’s so so cute and so comfortable!! Everybody always asks me where I got it and I never knew!! Well now I do and I will be sending them their way!! Too cool! I would be stoked to rock another skirt here on Maui where I live now!!

I love those skirts, too. It makes me wish even more that I had a serger…that detail is just what makes it!

I love that you are living in a tiny space. We’re in 750 sq feet (only three of us). It seemed impossibly small when we moved in, but now seems perfect since we’ve adapted. And yet, we are still having the whole “is it possible to live here with two kids” conversation…which seems downright silly considering that many people live in much smaller spaces with more people.

Don’t have time to look at the cool clothes, but just wanted to say, as I’ve said and thought so many millions of times, that your vision inspires and warms me up. Way to make do in 400 square feet. I spent my entire childhood in not a whole lot more in Eastern Europe (but yes, we did have a couple of walls), and I marvel daily at people’s lack of appreciation for space here. You’ll feel regal once you move into your new house.

I just love seeing the familiar bits and pieces of your home all tucked into a tiny space. Somehow, my favorites all made their place in your new place…Home sweet home, fo sure. And I LOVE Margot’s dress. Trying to decide which girl to get it for..

Ruby looks like she’s getting so big. It’s crazy how fast they get “big” and you could never tell that M cut off her curls. I also love that Margot is rocking the scarf in the last picture. We have those same boots that M is wearing and we LOVE them!

O.K., I would spend $50 on skirts. I have been drooling over those skirts for over a year…both kid and adult!

I absolutely LOVE your small space and what you’re doing with it. Is it crazy to say that I want to sabotage our life as we know it, just to have the opportunity to down-size and grow even closer together? Seriously. Sounds like a dream to me

I am so impressed with your small living space – it looks so well organized. Love how you said that you and Andy have to sit and whisper…too funny! Oh, the memories you are creating.Love the REcreate stuff -it would be hard to pick one item – but I love the notebooks…

What a great opportunity! You know what? Since we are in Costa Rica, I am working hard to get back in shape and lose the extra pounds I still carry around since my last pregnancy (hum… 6 years ago…), so I would spend that $50 just for myself! I would get a tee skirt and a snappy headband!

Yup. We live in just about 650 square feet, but we have walls, and that makes a big difference. Three humans in that space–actually quite a luxury compared to a lot of the world–and plenty for us. But, I hear you. Laundry is often all over the place here, and there’s a lot of cross-use going on. Love it.

Oh my gosh…thanks for introducing me to REcreate Designs. I LOVE it all. But if I had to choose a couple of things right now, definitely a kid tee skirt and snappy headband for my daughter! Amazing stuff.

I love Recreate…I liked it on fb and I would definitely but a skirt for my 6 year old fashion diva! She would LOVE it…I might also pick up some headbands and fancy pants…its all sooo darn cute! My friend bought me a skirt from them (red sox)!! at the homemade fair for christmas and I cant wait to wear it this spring! Yeah…thanks for doing this contest;)

LOVE that you have shared your temporary digs. (Ha, no pun intended…) Love ReCreate Designs! Headbands and skirts for me and my girls! (We can wear them as the weather down here in N’awlins heats up soon.)

Thanks for the reminder! I had started browsing through Recreate days ago when a certain little 2 month old started licking her lips…and then, you know. SO, I ADORE the fancy pants for my kiddo and would love one of those skirts for myself! GOOD STUFF!!!!!